basic doubt in ic design

[arava prakash]

what is the difference between analog ic design(aicd) and digital ic design(dicd)?
and is one is part of another or different.

 

[erikl]

Basically the same as if you cut out "ic": In digital design, rather minimum size transistors are used, switching between logic states. In analog design you rarely switch voltages or currents; in most analog applications you have to bias the transistors in linear operation mode (called saturation mode in CMOS technology).

Matching requirements for necessary accuracy conditions often require the usage of larger than minimum size transistors.

 

[zhangljz]

The design flow is quite different. digital design is gate level design with RTL design, synthesis, PR, STA, etc, usually they can be done automatically with EDA tools. Analog design is transistor level design, you are dealing with single transistors.

 

[dick_freebird]

Somewhere way back at the front of the chain, somebody
had to design the digital primitives analog-style. But from
there, everybody wants to go big and abstract and think
about data, not volts and amps and ohms. There's a
continuum of places to play and tools to use. And you
can mix them for additional fun.